Search In Fatwa

Division of estate among a wife, parents, 4 sons and 2 daughters

Question

Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A son) Number 4 (A father) (A half brother (from his father)) Number 4 (A nephew from a half brother (from his father)) Number 1 (A cousin from a full paternal uncle) Number 4 -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A mother) (A daughter) Number 2 (A granddaughter (from the son)) Number 1 (A wife) Number 1 (A full sister) Number 3 (A half sister (from the father)) Number 2 - Information about the deceased’s debts : (Expiations (of an oath and the like))

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, the expiations of oaths must be deducted from the estate before dividing it among the heirs because they are considered debts that must be repaid to their rightful recipients and their repayment is given precedence over the right of the heirs to the estate. Ar-Rawdh Al-Murbi‘ reads: “It is incumbent on the Wasiyy (i.e. the executor of the will of the deceased), and if there is no Wasiyy, then on the heir, and if there is no heir, then on the ruler (or judge), to deduct all the liabilities from the deceased’s estate such as debts, obligatory Hajj expenses, and the like as well as the Zakah, vows, and expiation from the overall estate even if the deceased did not mention it in his will. This is because Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {after any bequest he [may have] made or debt} [Quran 4:11]"

After the deduction of all the expiations, the remainder of the estate is to be divided among the heirs. If the deceased did not leave any heirs except those mentioned in the question, then his mother gets one sixth of the estate as a fixed share and his father gets one sixth of the estate as a fixed share as well, because of the existence of the children of the deceased. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children.}[Quran 4:11] His wife gets one eighth of the estate as a fixed share because of the existence of the children. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt}[Quran 4:12]

The remainder of the estate is to be divided among the four sons and two daughters by Ta‘seeb (i.e. by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having an allotted share in the estate); the male gets double the share of the female. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {Allaah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females…}[Quran 4:11]

The rest of the heirs mentioned in the question do not get anything because they are excluded because of the deceased having son(s).

Therefore, the estate should be divided into two hundred and forty shares; the mother gets one sixth, which is forty shares; the father gets one sixth, which is forty shares; the wife gets one eighth, which is thirty shares; each son gets twenty six shares; and each daughter gets thirteen shares.

Allaah Knows best.

Related Fatwa